title: The effects and costs of a hearing screening and rehabilitation program in residential care homes for the elderly in the Netherlands1.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study describes the effects and costs of hearing screening and rehabilitation in residential care homes for the elderly. It was hypothesized that offering an in-house hearing screening and rehabilitation program would be an effective strategy to increase hearing aid ownership among the residents.
  
  
  METHODS
  All 705 residents of 8 residential care homes in the Netherlands were invited to participate in a hearing screening (pure-tone audiometry) and rehabilitation (hearing aids) program. Resident participation was analyzed, and the costs were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 243 residents (34%) participated in the screening, 222 (91%) of whom had hearing loss. Ninety-one (41%) of the screening participants with hearing loss started rehabilitation, which was successful for 50 (55%) of them. Hearing aid ownership among the residents with hearing loss increased from 28% at the start of the program to 33% at the end. The costs were €1,896 (US $2,480) per successfully rehabilitated resident. Hearing aid trials and hearing aids together accounted for 83% of the total costs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The effectiveness of the program was limited, as hearing aid ownership increased only slightly. Cost reduction measures should focus on decreasing the number of unsuccessful hearing aid trials.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University Medical Centre, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Linssen
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Joore
authors.forename: E J J M
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Theunissen
authors.forename: L J C
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Anteunis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D009426:Netherlands
keywords: elderly; hearing aid uptake; hearing rehabilitation; hearing screening; residential care homes